Bubble on the brain.

Sweet, dark skies. Last night was my very first imaging session during a new moon and the skies were glorious… well, relative to normal for this neck of the woods.

I’ve been wanting to shoot the Bubble Nebula for some time now. I know I’ll come back to this target after I get some better Ha response in my imaging rig, but here is a short integration first attempt with poor tracking. I opted to not crop out Messier 52 because it gives a neat perspective. 

The Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635) is a Hydrogen emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia. The “bubble” is created by the stellar wind from a massive hot central star about 10 to 40 times larger than our own. The nebula is near a giant molecular cloud which contains the expansion of the bubble nebula while itself being excited by the hot central star, causing it to glow. It was discovered in 1787 by William Herschel. You can also see Cassiopeia’s open cluster, Messier 52 (NGC 7654), in the upper right of the photo. 

Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635)
Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635)